Communication Within Multinational Organizations

Brandt, W. K., & Hulbert, J. M. (1976). Patterns of Communications in the Multinational Corporation: An Empirical Study. Journal of International Business Studies.

     In business, successful communication is the key to success, and being able to relate to a customer is the best form of communication. This is why cross-cultural communication is so important as the business world continues to globalize itself. Unfortunately, “A lack of awareness about the culturally prescribed rules and norms of communication behaviors can cause public relations projects to fail, or worse, backfire.” (Zaharna, 2001, p.135).

In any organization effective communication forms an essential part of the organization’s growth and progress. However, it has been seen that this is not always the case. This istrue in today’s globalized world when one has employees coming from different ethnic, cultural and religious backgrounds working together. If the reasons for communication failure are examined it has been found that they fall in four distinct categories. These are:

The management level of this company has lack communication with their employees. The company never empower their employees, which makes all the employees become lazy and more likely to listen the orders from the SMART group.

In this regard, the issues about the role and the place of international communication become an integral part of life both for the humankind in general, as well as for the individual. Though being quite turbulent, the actual process of intellectual brainstorming was meant for intercultural communication. This span of time was of great importance for the enlargement and progression of the field. Many intercultural theorists have refrained from analyzing cultures separately (or as compared to cross-cultural); they have to study the interaction between two different cultures. Instead of focusing on individual communication behaviors, they preferred to find out on how the process of communication is affected by different behaviors (Brislin 1982; Gudykunst and Kim, 1984; Samovar et al., 1981). Emphasis was put on the term “intercultural” from the study of what cultural differences meant in terms of intercultural interaction. Studies focusing on behaviors within one particular culture (known as “culture-specific”) had increased the importance of studying communication process across cultures (known as

The case, Charles Foster sends an email, is a perfect example of the how globalization and increased cross cultural interaction is increasing the complexity and ambiguity facing the managers of large multinational companies. The specific focus of this case is to address the repercussions that can occur by using inadequate communication methods, given the importance and complexity of a situation. Also, the case addresses the possibility of cross cultural communication misinterpretation leading to confusion and confrontation amongst the parties involved. The objective of this qualitative analysis is to utilize both theory and practical

In my previous professional role, it was imperative that I obtained an effective level of intercultural communication competence. I managed U.S. employee communications for unplanned system issues which often had a downstream global impact within the organization. As a result, many of my communications were tailored for a global audience which consisted of the United States, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Europe, Middle East, and Africa regions. Prior to a sending an employee communication for a system issue, there was always a global business call with all stakeholders to discuss the details and determine which region would lead the communications. The region designated to lead the communication had a challenging task of tailoring the message

Communication is one of the most vital components of a business! It is imperative that every business practices good communication within its members. From a managerial perspective, mangers have to make sure they carry out effective communication skills by actively listening to verbal and nonverbal messages. A fundamental strength of great leaders is that they communicate a powerful sense of urgency that mobilizes all troops in pursuit of a brighter and better future (Richardson, 2009). Communication is necessary for all walks of life. It is necessary in the

Communication – verbal and otherwise – remains an important dimension of international management, and there are different communication styles, how communication is processed and interpreted, and how culture and language influence communication and miscommunication (Luthans & Doh, 2012).

In multinational workplaces understanding how important the significance of cultural differences is larger than we might think. Organizations that are diverse have to work together because their functionality impacts the productivity of the workplace. It is vital to have an understanding the different cultures to develop a strong organization. Certain principles will help you acknowledge that different cultures exist within the organization. As a manager, you have to analyze the reasons for the development of the differences and

In addition to culture, Chapter 1 briefly touches on communication as an aspect of culture. Ineffective and improper forms of communication are detailed and several examples are discussed on “how not to” properly communicate in different countries.

Communication in the global workplace is a complex concept with the increased diversity of cultural

This essay will focus primarily on three main issues that can undermine effective communication namely cultural diversity, emotions and language (Robbins et al. 2011 p.331). The importance of feedback in an organisation to improve communication would also be reviewed (Iyer & Israel 2012 p. 55). Through feedback received, communication unveils opportunities to improve the individual and general performances of the organisation (Daneci-Patrau 2011 p. 496). Communication in an organisation comprises of many dimensions spanning formal and informal means of internal communication and external communications (Iyer & Israel 2012 p. 52). Communication is an ongoing process in which feelings, ideas, values and perceptions are transferred

Cross-cultural communication is the process of exchanging meaningful and unambiguous information across cultural boundaries, in a way that preserves mutual respect and minimizes antagonism, that is, it looks at how people from differing cultural backgrounds endeavour to communicate. The study of cross-cultural communication was originally found within businesses and the government both seeking to expand globally. Communication is interactive, so an important influence on its effectiveness is our relationship with others. All communication is cultural -- it draws on ways we have learned to speak and give nonverbal messages. We do not always

According to the works of Chaney & Martin (2011) and Harris & Moran (2000), they agree that international management skills are in need for the increasing scope of international trades and investments. A large number of multinational companies have expanded their businesses through both developed and developing countries. Some of the business invest directly and others are partnership arrangements and strategic alliances with domestic operations. Their studies show that independent entrepreneurs and small businesses have started investing and competing in the world marketplace. Thus, to acquire corporations’ objectives, there is exceedingly a necessity for the development of strategic framework for cross-cultural management and communication in the current competitive global market. Chaney & Martin (2011) also noted that, cultural awareness and cultural differences are strongly important to the multinational corporations’ success. A good understanding of the culture where business is implemented can make international managers productive and effective.